WOMAD

Sergent Garcia

From France

With three albums that exude the festive sensuality of a global citizen, Sergent Garcia has become the French ambassador of sunny beats. His music – the total opposite of the chubby bourgeois character (Zorro’s sidekick) whose name he has borrowed – is spicy, resonant, dapper and invigorating, an apt and fresh mix of the best Jamaican and Cuban beats. Never before have reggae, salsa, son, cha-cha, ska, rumba and ragga been so harmoniously combined on the same album: a true first. Paris, 1997: Bruno Garcia, having already proven himself on the alternative rock scene (Ludwig Von 88) and with the cosmopolitan virtues of his sound systems widely acclaimed, lays the bases for an Esperanto sound he names ‘salsamuffin’. Originating in the Caribbean, but free to roam from inspiration to haphazard encounter, this unconventional alliance of sounds becomes widely popular. With the steadfast members of Los Locos Del Barrio, an eclectic contingent derived from the Parisian Afro-Caribbean-Latino scene, Bruno crisscrosses France, then responds to his international acclaim (over 200,000 copies sold) by playing mainly in Hispanic countries and the USA. Bruno’s first three albums – VIVA EL SARGENTO (1997, recently re-released by Labels), UN POQUITO QUEMA’O (1999, the salsamuffin rule book), SIN FRONTERAS (2001, a nomadic manifesto that branches off to explore Amadou and Mariam’s Mali, and Balbino’s gypsy world) were dreamt up in Paris using exotic ingredients. With his fourth album, LA SEMILLA ESCONDIDA, Sergent Garcia took the opposite route, going back to the origins of these exhilarating musical styles in order to record them on location, in a studio, with experienced musicians. Once the demos were finished, the final recording and mixing took five months. “Not an unreasonable amount of time considering this is a rather particular and ambitious project, which we recorded in three different countries.” April 2003. Arrow Studios, Kingston, Jamaica. First phase: Tyrone Downie – Bob Marley’s former keyboard player, who has worked with such artists as Jimmy Cliff, Steel Pulse, Khaled, Tonton David and Stomy Bugsy – oversees all of the reggae, ska, and ragga-inspired pieces. Seven other highly skilled Jamaican artists lay the foundations that will sustain the more elastic beats, heavy bass and reggae guitar riffs. May 2003. Flores, Santiago de Cuba Second phase: Ground floor at the home of Ivan Montoya, a tireless percussionist and the album’s co-producer, is the scene of the band’s rehearsals in Cuba. At the end of the day, when the heat fades away and the inhabitants of this working-class neighborhood return from work, curious faces crowd around the windows of the dining room, which has become an improvised practice area. Ivan, who comes from a long line of musicians (his father can actually be heard playing the tres on six pieces of LA SEMILLA ESCONDIDA), plays the role of conductor. In the backyard, shared with the roosters and dogs, the brass section is going over “Herencia Africana”. The neighborhood kids love all the commotion and remember that, just a few streets away, Sergent Garcia put together Santiago’s first sound system. Meanwhile, the songs start to take shape. “When I first started this project, my goal was to combine the two sounds I love most: Jamaican and Cuban music. This blend of cultures contains all that I seek and uphold: I am fighting for a world without borders, but with many more colors.” Indeed, this is what it’s all about: borders. Whether they be artistic or geographical, Sergent Garcia’s sole desire is to step over them. And so he creates bridges between the various Caribbean islands, where cultural fusion and mixing are already the norm, a perpetual flurry of styles that stretch out and feed on their differences, unexpectedly coming together at random, with surprising ramifications. “Music can only be understood in terms of a blend. Everything that we listen to today is the result of a coming together of sounds.” However, unlike opportunistic pretenders who gleefully ride the Latin music wave, Sergent Garcia cannot bring together two major music styles without forever altering their respective essences and flavors.Late May. Egrem Siboney Studios. Santiago de Cuba. Final phase: These mythical walls have witnessed the presence of the entire spectrum of Cuban musical legends: Compay Segundo, Ibrahim Ferrer, Eliades Ochoa and a dozen others. In this spacious room, designed to hold an entire orchestra, the most beautiful moments in the history of Cuban music have transpired. And this is where Sergent Garcia, backed by about twenty musicians with a solid roster of experiences under their belts, put the final touches on LA SEMILLA ESCONDIDA, his latest, but also most accomplished album. LA SEMILLA ESCONDIDA is much more than a new chapter in the Caribbean musical road movie begun by Bruno a few years ago. There is no treading on the familiar paths of the past. The terrain, though familiar, is constantly being reinvented. The landscape materializes with more acuteness, while Sergent Garcia relentlessly discovers new crossroads and hidden trails. But the quest for change and the thirst for adventure remain unchanged. Modifications occur within the framework of continuity. The goal is to cast off the moorings while retaining the same anchorage point. The CD opens with Long Time, a traditional reggae built on a ragga riddim, on which Bïonik and Hector sing an ode to friendship. Revolucion provides undeniable proof that Jamaica and Cuba can come together with astonishing affinity. Red-hot brass sections celebrate the marriage of salsa and reggae, whose fusion has never been so understated. On the very suave El Asalto, teasing flutes conjure up a courtship dance with the brass section. These beats of fire and fiesta don sensual attire for the occasion. Mi Ultima Voluntad (Tonight) is an upbeat and wild reggae number, a blast of positive energy running through the entire body. Equilibre est fragile, a politically engaged piece, is a burning reggae manifesto, hot as coals, rash and nervously strained – an epistle brought to its boiling point that radiates sheer anger. Bruno’s vocals have become more expressive and powerful. The exquisite El Regresso brings listeners back a few years in time – a cha-cha riff from another era that retains its timeless beauty. Nada Tiene Final is another successful experience in integration. Rap, R&B and Ragga go on a very unique jaunt, joined together in a Caribbean atmosphere: a new and pleasurable mix of cultures is created. Que Corra La Voz, a ska piece blasting off with a contagious sparkle, injects a dose of good vibes, while Herencia Africana features one of the album’s most gorgeous brass sections. The multifaceted charm of this piece bounces to constantly changing rhythms. Yet again, Yo Se Que Te Gusta embraces the Caribbean spirit in all its diversity, celebrating the region’s natural tendency for artistic cross-referencing. Tu No Sabes Na is a long and hypnotic chant boosted by fabulous percussion work that resembles the religious beats used by the Rastas to intone biblical psalms. Poetas denounces dictators and false prophets whose hands are covered in blood. Happy melodies alternate with fighting tunes, and dancing does not rule out the ability to think. Finally, Viva La Felicidad, a gem that sways with grace and impishness, crowns the album. Yet again, Sergent Garcia proves that this type of music is not for mindless dancing. In particular, he shows that by steering clear of a simplistic interpretation of his own brand of salsamuffin, he can effectively refine his musical brews by giving them greater leeway and going down previously unexplored paths, with startling pertinence.